Jan.-Nov. sales in China for mainstream luxury carmakers

With the 2019 fast approaching, premium automakers are striving to deliver more vehicles in China in the year-end sprint. Gasgoo hereby summaries the November sales of Chinese market released by some mainstream premium car markers. Although China's overall vehicle sales presented year-on-year (YoY) downturn for the first eleven months, most global premium car markers tabulated here obtained positive growth in both Nov. sales and year-to-date (YTD) sales .

Which one to be crowned the sales champion of 2018 still remains suspended. Cadillac has completed its sales target ahead of schedule, while Lexus also gained a Jan.-to-Nov. volume exceeding total sales last year. Now, we are explaining the performances for each automaker in sequence based on their YTD sales.

BMW

BMW took the sales championship among premium car brands delivered in China. Last month, it achieved a YoY sales growth of 10.3%, the fourth month in a row that achieved positive increase.

In November, the sales of the BMW 5 Series sedan jumped 22.2%, fiercely taking on the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. Meanwhile, the sales of the China-made all-new BMW X3 SUV reached 6,501 units. The fresh model is expected to further promote BMW's sales in China before 2018 ends. However, its YTD sales (including the sales of Mini) are over 20 thousand units less than that of the Mercedes-Benz and Audi, which may be hard to catch up with in the final month.

Audi

Audi gained a slight YoY sales increase last month thanks to the rising performance of the locally-produced Audi A4L, A6L and the imported Audi A5 and A8L. Its cumulative sales for the first eleven months have already exceeded the overall sales last year despite losing the champion by monthly sales.

The Audi A6 had a sales volume of 14,566 units in November, the hottest seller among premium sedan models for Chinese market. The Audi Q5 grabbed the crown of the best-selling premium SUV by Nov. sales from the Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class thanks to the growing sales of the Audi Q5L (6,820 units).

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz is the first luxury car brand that saw its total sales in China (excluding the sales of Smart) surpass 600 thousand units this year, meanwhile, also attained a double-digit YoY growth.

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan, with 13,349 units delivered in November, had its monthly sales hit a new record. Nevertheless, the GLC-Class SUV was no longer the sales champion in the segment where it belongs to with its Nov. sales dropped 10.6% over a year ago to 7,722 units. Besides, the sales of the all-new A-Class sedan, which hit the market on November 23, reached 500 units in November.

Cadillac

Cadillac has already accomplished its 200 thousand-unit sales goal for its Chinese market by one month ahead of schedule.

The hottest-selling model should be the Cadillac XT5, whose cumulative sales reached 66,200 units from January to October. At the same time, the sales of the Cadillac XT4 climbed to 4,238 units in the third month after it went on sales.

Lexus

Lexus also saw its Jan.-to-Nov. sales in China outnumbered that of the previous year and has fulfilled 93.11% of its 160 thousand-unit annual sales goal.

As the absolute sales driver, the seventh-generation Lexus ES contributes to nearly a quarter of the brand's overall sales in China on a monthly basis.

Volvo

Last month, Volvo maintained a rising momentum energized by the popularity of the China-made XC60 and S90. The Nov. sales of the domestically-produced XC60 and S90 reached 5,122 units and 2,841 units respectively.

It is reported that Volvo is going to enrich its product lineup in China by launching the all-new S60L and locally producing the XC40 next year.

Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover suffered YoY downturn in both monthly sales and YTD sales for four straight months.

The company attributed the sales plunge to the tariff change and the trade tension between China and the U.S., which depressed consumers' willingness and confidence in vehicle purchase.

The automaker is ready to launch the all-new Range Rover Evoque in early 2019, which is expected to alleviate the current sales dilemma in this country.

Lincoln

Compared with the same period a year ago, the Nov. sales of the Lincoln Navigator, MKX and MKC jumped 129%, 55% and 14% respectively.

The Ford-owned premium car brand debuted two new SUV models—the Lincoln Nautilus and the all-new MKC at the Auto Guangzhou holding in November to strengthen its presence in China's SUV sector.

Infiniti

Infiniti saw its sales in China edge up 8.7% from a year earlier to 5,009 units in November, according to an Infiniti statement seen by Reuters. Of that, the sales of the China-made Q50L and the QX50 aggregated 3,671 units, accounting for 73% of the entire Nov. sales.

Dongfeng Infiniti set a 100,000-unit annual sales target for 2018 as early as 2014, yet it basically loses the possibility to achieve the goal based on the YTD sales it has acquired by far.

Acura

Acura's total sales in China to date even failed to reach 10,000 units. Last month, the sales of the RDX, TLX-L, MDX and NSX were 237 units, 237 units, 41 units and only 1 unit. No sales data was produced for the TLX.

The long-anticipated all-new RDX hit China's market in early November, while few substantial impacts were evoked.